The city of Tampa is well known for its great weather and recreational offerings. Many visit the city to enjoy the beautiful climate along with the city’s amazing theme parks. However, these parks can easily become sites of premises liability incidents.
Recent reports of a tragic accident in Texas forced authorities to reflect on the safety of theme parks across the country. In Orlando, where the state’s largest theme parks are located, there have been some reported injuries among guests in the second quarter of this year. This is according to the most recent figures from local authorities.
Theme park giant Walt Disney World reported that three guests were injured so far last quarter. This includes a 36-year-old woman who suffered a seizure on one of the rides. A 56-year-old man also experienced dizziness and body pains while aboard another ride. Finally, a 62-year-old man suffered chest pains from a horror ride.
Comcast Corporation, which owns Universal Orlando, identified three injuries during the same period. Two occurred on a fantasy ride and another aboard a rocket-style ride. Meanwhile, other parks like Legoland Florida, Busch Gardens and SeaWorld have not reported any injuries so far.
These parks are only a short drive from Tampa. According to the National Safety Council, theme park accidents are quite rare, with only about 1,300 injuries each year nationwide. That is one for every 24 million visitors. About 4 percent of those injuries are serious and many are from roller coaster incidents.
In Florida, one of the top concerns is the possibility that related accidents and injuries are underreported because the industry is entrusted to conduct its own independent inspections and investigations and they can choose not to release any information. Critics feel that state authorities should enact laws that allow outside independent investigations.
Theme parks may be fun for many but for the few who get injured, they can cause harrowing experiences with the possibility of deadly, or at the very least permanent, repercussions. Victims of theme park ride accidents should understand all of their legal options for getting compensation for their injuries.
Source: Orlando Sentinel,” Florida parks report 7 injuries to state,” Jason Garcia, July 21, 2013
